


Memories (Redux)

by enogk07



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Breakup, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 17:34:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15935096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enogk07/pseuds/enogk07
Summary: When Logan is feeling hung up on his ex Roman's birthday, Patton comes over armed with a unique way to cheer him up. [REVISED REPOST OF A STORY THAT I WROTE EARLIER]





	Memories (Redux)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Memories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756192) by [enogk07](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enogk07/pseuds/enogk07). 



_Ping!_

Logan pulled his eyes away from his laptop for the first time in hours, leaving his homework aside for a moment. He looked down to see what had interrupted him, and immediately his heart sank.

_Facebook: Wish your friend Roman Sanders a happy birthday!_

He picked up his phone and swiped the notification in spite of himself, landing on his ex's Facebook page. He leaned back in his chair as he tried to determine the best course of action.

They had agreed last month to remain friends on Facebook, and at first that was no issue. But it was moments like this that made him regret that agreement.

Logan scrolled through the messages that had been posted so far. "Happy birthday!" "HBD" "Yo yo yo, Captain Ro! You're now seventeen today, so shout hooray!"

He scowled at that last one. Seriously, that was Remy's idea of a poem? He clicked on the post and hovered over the comments section, his thumb vibrating as he tried to come up with something to top it.

Suddenly, Logan's thought process was interrupted by an incoming call from Patton. He gritted his teeth and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Logan asked.

"Hey, buddy! You want to hang out today?" Patton chirped.

"No, I've got a lot of work to do," Logan said distractedly. He moved over to his drawer and got out the project he'd started working on two months before.

"Aw, that's too bad. We should really catch up sometime, don't you think?"

Logan popped open a Sharpie and swept it across the page. "I mean, I just saw you at school yesterday, but sure, I guess."

"Well, yeah. But that was school! I don't think it counts as hanging out if we're stuck in class for most of the day."

"Mmhm."

Logan put down the Sharpie and pulled out a bottle of craft glue, holding up the phone between his shoulder and his ear. He inspected everything that had already been stuck down and retouched the things that needed it. He stood back up to smooth it out, but in the process the phone fell to the ground.

He bent down to pick it up, and then it hit him that Patton was still on the phone. He brought the phone to his ear again and retreated to his bed.

"Hey! Sorry about that, I didn't know you were still on. So anyway, what's up?" 

"Not a whole lot. But Logan, can I ask you something?" Patton's voice was wise and gentle, but it only made the other all the more anxious.

Logan shut his eyes and drew a shallow, shaky breath. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Sure. Go ahead!" 

"Whatever happened to that poster thing you promised you were gonna throw out?"

Logan winced. Of course Patton could hear what he was doing. He sagged his shoulders and leaned back on his bed.

"I mean, I may as well finish what I started, right? It's almost done, anyway." He gazed at the poster now laying on his desk: a collage of their favorite plays, mementos for almost every date they went on...and the first two poems they ever sent to each other. It was glittery and red and romantic, and Roman was supposed to have loved it.

"And what were you planning to do with it when you finished it?" Patton asked gently. "Drop it off at his house?"

"I..." Logan protested. But Patton was right--Roman had never appreciated Logan's talents, and chances were good that a gift wouldn't change that.

"Look, just hang on to it. I have a better idea."

"Wait, Patton, I--" Logan began. But Patton had already hung up.

Logan pulled back and stared at the phone in horror. Whatever Patton had in mind, Logan wasn't sure he was ready for it.

\--

Twenty minutes passed, and Patton arrived at Logan's apartment with a blue canvas bag draped over his shoulder. He knocked on the door, and Logan begrudgingly got up to answer it.

"Well, what do you say?" he asked as Logan let him inside. "You ready to make the best ice cream sundae you've ever eaten in your entire life?"

"Hello to you too," Logan deadpanned. "Also, what?"

Patton opened his bag to show that it was full of ice cream cartons, syrup, whipped cream, and two huge bags of candy. Logan sighed, but let his best friend into the kitchen anyway.

"Excellent! Now let's begin!" Patton said triumphantly. He got a giant bowl out from the cabinet, and set it down on the counter. Then he pulled out one of the jars of ice cream and set it down next to it.

He balled his fist and held it up to his face as if it were a microphone. Putting on his best announcer voice, he began, "So today on _Cooking with Patton and Logan_ , we are going to be making the world's most epic ice cream sundae. Now, as you might expect, the first thing we need would be the ice cream. But alas, we don't know which flavor to choose! What do you think, Logan? Cookie Dough or Butterscotch?"

He pointed the invisible microphone at Logan, who looked down at it as if it were another life form. But Patton clearly wasn't leaving until he played along, so he sighed and said, "Cookie dough."

"An excellent choice, my friend!" Patton cried gleefully, and flung two oversized scoops of ice cream into the bowl. Logan leaned against the counter, resigned, as Patton dug into the bag again.

"Now, this time we don't need to choose between flavors. Only the best sundaes have both chocolate and caramel syrup, right?" He turned his fist outwards again and cupped his other hand over his ear, listening for the imaginary audience to give their cheers of agreement.

"That's what I thought!" Patton said after a moment. He put the scooper down to open the syrup, and by now Logan was finally starting to smile...just a little bit.

"Alright, everyone, stand back!" he announced dramatically, as he turned the brand-new bottle of chocolate syrup completely upside down and swept it back and forth haphazardly into the bowl. Then he did the same with the caramel syrup, and after that he tilted the bowl back towards the imaginary audience. "Just look at that wonderful presentation!" he said, sweeping his hand.

"And now it's time to add the other toppings!" Patton bent down again, and got out a giant yellow bag. Logan perked up.

"Patton, are those...Butterfingers?" He inched towards the bag a little closer.

"Oh, better than that, my friend. These are Butterfingers hidden inside Reese's Cups! One huge bag, all unwrapped, totally ready to be thrown into this wonderful sundae of ours."

Logan just stared at it, mouth hung open. "So like...basically my two favorite candies combined into one? Where did you find these?"

Patton shrugged. "I dunno, just at the pharmacy. Look, do you want them in the sundae or not?"

Logan grinned and tore open the bag. Patton held onto the bowl, and Logan poured about a third of the candies inside.

"Excellent!" Patton said, returning to his show persona. "And finally, of course, we get to the big one. One of the last ingredients in any delicious, mouthwatering ice cream sundae. Do you know what that might be, Chef Logan?"

Logan gave a half smile, and formed his own invisible microphone. "Whipped cream?" he guessed.

"That would be correct, my friend!" Patton reached into his bag one last time. He took out the can of whipped cream and stared at it.

"Hm, I sure hope I still know how to work one of these things," he said in mock concern. "It would be quite the tragedy if all this got on us instead of the bowl. But alas, here goes nothing..."

He gave the can a shake, and was about to press down when he felt something cold on his neck. He looked up to see that Logan had already gotten the second can out of the bag and was aiming it at him.

Patton smiled slyly. "Now you're getting it!" The two sprayed each other for a couple moments before attacking the bowl together. Once both cans were finally empty, Logan sank down into a chair and dissolved into giggles.

"That was amazing, Patton. Thank you." He grabbed two spoons from the drawer and handed one to his best friend. "Shall we?"

Patton took a deep breath. It was time for Phase Two. He shook his head and lowered Logan's hand. "Not quite yet. There's still some other things we have to do first."

Logan frowned. "Like what?"

Patton paused for a second. He hadn't quite expected the ice cream thing to work, and he didn't even have an answer to Logan's question. But he thought on his feet, and said, "Well, like...hey, you know what comes after the Cooking Show?"

Logan raised his eyebrows good-naturedly. "Let me guess, the Cleaning Show?"

"Yep, you've got it!" Patton exclaimed.

"Haha, well, I definitely agree that the kitchen needs cleaning up soon, but I really think we should start eating this sundae before it melts," he said, mouth watering.

But Patton shook his head and placed the bowl in Logan's freezer. "The ice cream will be safe for now. And anyway, the kitchen isn't my main concern right now."

He waved his hand and ushered Logan down the hall. Logan shrugged and followed him, still blissfully oblivious to what Patton had planned.

"Now, the one thing you have to know about the Cleaning Show is that it's a game show," Patton said as they got inside. He addressed the imaginary audience again. "So, how many of you out there think that I can dust off Logan's shelves faster than Logan himself can clean off the top of his desk?"

As soon as Patton said this, Logan glanced over at his desk, and realized that his poster for Roman was still lying on top of it. He widened his eyes and whimpered. At last, Patton's behavior was starting to make sense.

Patton himself bit his lip at hearing his friend in pain, but shot Logan an encouraging smile anyway.

"And our racers are in position! On your marks, get set..."

Suddenly, Logan ran over and crammed the poster into his waste paper basket. "Okay, okay. I get it. It's going in the trash, alright? Happy now?" he asked tearfully.

Patton looked down and shuffled his feet. "No," he whispered.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Logan asked incredulously.

Patton looked up again and reached his hand out, his TV show persona now gone for good. "I just mean...he hurt you, Logan. That doesn't make me happy. It's kind of in the Best Friends Contract, I'm afraid," he added with a half smile.

He stepped forward and opened his arms for a hug, but Logan didn't accept. He stared at Patton with a blank expression for a few moments, and then slammed his hands over his ears. He ran to sit on his bed, and Patton sat down next to him.

"Logan..." Patton began cautiously, "are you alright?"

"Stop saying he hurt me. Why does everyone keep saying that? He's not a bad person, okay? You barely even knew him," Logan cried.

"I never said he was. And you're right, I don't know him. But I didn't have to know him to see how the relationship was hurting you."

"But I can fix it," Logan insisted. He got up and pulled the poster out of the trash can. "Just give me a chance to fix it."

He stood in the middle of his room, caressing the poster, until Patton came over and put it back on the desk. Logan looked back up at him, and Patton led him by the hand back to his bed.

"Logan, tell me honestly--how do you think giving him the poster is going to fix things?"

Logan thought it over. "Well, it would make him understand that my talents are important and that I have something to offer him."

"But why do you have to prove that to your significant other? Shouldn't that be a given?" Patton challenged.

Logan slammed his hands over his ears again at that question, and Patton came over to pull them off.

"Logan, Logan, talk to me," he pleaded. "I don't like seeing you like this, but I can't let you stay in denial either. So tell me--what can I do to help?" He brought Logan's hands down and held them in his own.

"I'm just...I'm scared," Logan said after a while. Patton sat back on the bed and signaled for him to go on. "Everyone keeps saying that he was a bad person. But if that's true, then everything I've been through these past seven months was a waste of time. I could have been preparing for college, or spending time with you, or just doing so many things that are more useful than spending time with someone who hated me."

"No, that's not true..." Patton said slowly. "I don't think he hated you. I don't even think he was a bad person. And to my recollection, I don't think I ever said either of those things. All I said was that he hurt you."

Patton stood up and retrieved the poster from Logan's desk. He brought it back to the bed and laid it on his lap. "You know, I really do like this. I think there's a story in it. It's a story of someone who lifted you up and made you laugh. It's a story of someone who stayed up late having deep conversations with you. And it's a true story."

He turned towards Logan again and took his hand. "But it's not the full story. It doesn't show the guy who was too insecure for his own good and who never followed through with plans. My point is, I think the idea of Roman that's represented on this paper is also the idea of him you have in your head, and that's what we need to change. You have to be able to take the good with the bad here, and vice versa."

Logan nodded thoughtfully. "I get that. I don't like it, but I get it. But it still doesn't disprove the argument that I wasted my time. All those late-night conversations and stuff aren't worth anything now that they're over, so what am I left with? What do I have now that I wouldn't have if we had never been together?"

Patton tilted his head. "Really? You don't know?"

Logan gave an equally puzzled look and shook his head. Patton sighed softly.

"Logan," he began, "who was that poet you were raving about a few weeks ago? The one who managed to write something every day for a year?"

"You mean, Dustin Moore? What about him?"

"Well, you still have his book on the shelf over there, right?"

Logan nodded.

"So tell me," Patton continued patiently, "did Roman tell you to buy those books?"

Logan looked down. "Well, no. Just the first one. He didn't even know about the others."

"But you still like his work, right?" Patton went on. "And you wouldn't have known about him if it hadn't been for Roman."

Logan sighed and nodded. Patton took his hands once again.

"I've seen firsthand what your love of poetry has done for you. It's made you excited to get up every day and learn new things. And it's okay to credit Roman with making you realize that side of you, but now that it's out, you don't need to still be with him for it to continue. It's a benefit you can take with you for the rest of your life, and the failure of your relationship doesn't have to devalue that. Okay?"

Logan sniffled and gave a half-smile. "Okay."

"Does that make you feel less scared?"

"Yeah, it does."

Logan got up and pulled the poster into his own lap. "Maybe getting rid of the project would help," he admitted.

Patton nodded, and Logan gave the poster one last look. The ticket stubs from that professional poetry reading they went to back in March. The thank-you note that Roman had written after Logan had convinced him to go up during their first Open Mic Night together. And...the one Secret Admirer poem that started it all.

It still happened. All of it. And it was good. But if the relationship was broken, then maybe...

Logan closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. "I'm ready," he whispered. He lifted the poster up to eye level, and tentatively tore off the top corner. Then he got up and threw the scrap in the trash. He glanced at Patton, who gave a thumbs-up.

Logan was on a roll. He moved back to the poster again, tearing off bigger and bigger chunks. "This one's for standing me up at that restaurant two months ago," he said forcefully, flinging the shreds into the garbage. "And this one's for making us late to Virgil's poetry reading." Patton stood back and raised his eyebrows, grinning slightly. It filled him with pride to see Logan come up with the idea to tear it up all on his own.

Finally all the scraps were in the trash, and Logan stared down in shock. "Well," he said, as Patton kicked the trash can out of the former's sight. "I guess that's it."

He stared at the floor and kicked his feet, and Patton came up to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," he soothed, "I'm proud of you. Really."

Logan swallowed hard and looked down at his hands. "So...now what?"

Patton smiled softly and lifted Logan's chin.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, now we have an ice cream sundae to eat."


End file.
